Japanese whisky has become increasingly popular in recent years, receiving more recognition in the UK than ever before. A man named Masataka Taketsuru spearheaded the production of Japanese whisky. In 1918 he moved to Scotland from Japan to learn about how traditional Scotch was made. Years later he took these skills back to Japan and worked for drinks company Suntory for a number of years before eventually building his own distillery in Yoichi in 1934 which featured a very similar climate and surroundings to Scotland where he created the whisky brand Nikka, which now produces some of the finest Japanese whiskies

Sake no Hana has now launched an exclusive whisky and chocolate flight featuring three hand selected whiskies paired with chocolates created by the restaurant’s pastry team specifically to accompany and complement the complex flavours of each dram.The whisky flight follows Taketsuru through his life.

Nikka from the Barrel paired with Alto el sol chocolate Both the blended whisky and Peruvian chocolate have a rich aroma and fruity notes.

Nikka Yoichi paired with a smoked salt ganache. The smokiness of the whisky is balanced by the smooth, creamy flavour of the ganache.

The bar will also be serving a large collection of over 30 Japanese whiskies including four of the rarest Japanese whiskies in the world, not available anywhere else in the UK. The four whiskies include Ichiro’s Hanyu The Joker, Karuizawa 1983 Geisha, Karuizawa 1989 and Hanyu (Silent) Ichiro’s Final Vintage. Due to the rarity of the whiskies, Sake no Hana will only have one bottle of each whisky available to order from the bar and once the whole bottle has been poured, each whisky will no longer be available.